Coleman's Lauren Melville set to become a Spartan (video)

TOWN OF ULSTER, N.Y. -- Because of all her hard work, Lauren Melville got an offer she just could not refuse.

The senior, getting ready for her final basketball season at John A. Coleman Catholic High, has accepted an offer to play collegiate hoops at St. Thomas Aquinas.

Between academic and athletic scholarships, the Division II college will cover Melville's full tuition. The only items not covered are books.

"I had high hopes. I knew it could happen if I worked hard," Melville said about the prospect of playing college ball. She recently signed her National Letter of Intent. "I did not expect the kind of offer or opportunity I got.

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"I had always wanted to play in college."

MELVILLE WILL join a St. Thomas Aquinas team that went 18-11 in 2011-12 under head coach Kim Lusk and reached the finals of the East Coast Conference tournament. The Spartans knocked off second-seeded University of District Columbia in the semifinals.

St. Thomas Aquinas is 2-3 this season following Saturday's 61-46 victory at Nyack.

Playing six months for the Kingston Vipers AAU program has strengthened and expanded Melville's game.

"I feel I am a much more confident player," she said. "I'm more aggressive. I've been trying to take it to the basket more. I'm trying to be aggressive to the basket. That's my goal."

A stronger inside effort should bolster the 6-foot-1 center's performance. Last year, she averaged six points a game for a Stateswomen team that made it all the way to the state Class C final four.

"She's gotten better from April to September. Lauren had a very good end of the AAU season, especially in three college showcases in September.

"Coach Lusk liked how much she has improved. She's become more aggressive."

"AFTER THE second tournament of the AAU season, I finally kicked off," Melville said. "I started to play to my potential."

Melville made her first official visit to the Sparkill campus in Westchester County in August and went back in September. It was at the second meet that Lusk made the offer.

Melville had looked at other colleges, including Massachusetts Liberal Arts and Roger Williams University in Rhode Island. She had given strong consideration to Hartwick College in Oneonta, but that was before St. Thomas Aquinas entered the mix.

"I was not expecting this," she said.

Melville, who may major in Natural Science or Medical Technology, is thrilled that her college plans are in place.

"It takes a load off my shoulders. Now I can just concentrate on the season."